A blog for memories of Madison Central High, created and maintained by the Dane County Historical Society.

February 28, 2010

Memories from Judy (Copus) Piepr

I remember coming to Central High on a school bus -- it was the first time I had ever been on a bus. We lived in the suburban area just below Nob Hill, and the bus route didn't run quite that far.

It was certainly different going to a huge high school. I graduated 8th grade from Badger Elementary School, where each room contained two classes. Now, each class had five or six home rooms. Scary.

I thought I would never remember my schedule, where my locker was located, or the names of the teachers and classmates. It didn't take long, though, and I felt very comfortable at Central.

I remember Miss Smith, the junior high principal. She was the first to make me understand that grammer is important. Believe it or not, "that there," and "this here," were pretty common words coming out of my mouth up to that point. I will be eternally grateful to her for bringing it to my attention that people (especially potential employers) do notice how a person speaks.

I will also remember our senior high homeroom teacher, Mr. Herried. (I hope I have the "i" and "e" in the right place.) He made each student in his homeroom feel as though he or she could go on to be whatever they chose. (Not as easy as he made it sound.)

I lost touch with so many of my classmates. Our 50th class reunion is coming up in 2011, and I hope to see most of them at that time. I saw on a updated class roster that Dan Dryden had passed away. I went to Badger School with Dan, and he was one of the "smart kids." At Central he was on the staff of the Madison Mirror. The stories he wrote for English class were wonderful. Over the years, before I knew he passed away, I hoped to see a novel written by him being sold at one of the book stores.

I loved going to the football games and cheering our team on.

I had a wonderful time in Mrs. Ellen Meister's foods class.

I thoroughly enjoyed Mrs. Eisenman's hisory/geography class.

My sister, Vivian, and I used to go to Fanny Farmer and buy almond bark with our lunch money. (Have you noticed the price of almond bark at Fanny Farmer lately?)

I enjoyed my years at Central High, the melting pot of Madison. I met many interesting people, and learned a lot about getting along with others.